


Magister

by greerwatson



Category: Forever Knight
Genre: Backstory, Gen, Historical
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-08
Updated: 2020-04-08
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:22:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23543818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greerwatson/pseuds/greerwatson
Summary: It has been a long time since LaCroix first crossed paths with Aristotle.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 7





	Magister

**Author's Note:**

> This story was first posted to FKFIC-L@LISTS.PSU.EDU on 8 April 2020.

It was an odd friendship, if that was the right word. They met by accident, one dark night in Rome, and instantly recognized each other’s nature. To Divius Lucianus (who wore a fine wool toga over the _angusticlavia_ of his rank), the drab wool of Aristoteles’ clothes marked his lower status; yet he could feel the age and power of the other vampire despite his humble bearing. So he adjusted the folds of his own cloak, the better to show the narrow purple stripe on his tunic. The gold ring on his hand glinted in the dim torch light. Rather than deference, though, it was faint amusement that Divius Lucianus saw in the other man’s face. This intrigued him.

“I have bought a boy,” he might say one night, “from Parthia. I thought perhaps we might share a drink.” 

And Aristoteles would accept his hospitality, enjoy the meal, and talk of distant lands beyond Parthia. Whether he could actually have travelled that far, Divius Lucianus could not say; but certainly the other vampire had knowledge he could not have drained from the slave. 

Was Aristoteles in truth the philosopher of Alexander’s Greece? That was something his host could never quite discover. Often he dismissed the very possibility. At other times, though … at other times, Aristoteles would once again say something to disturb the equanimity of a true-born Roman vampire. It might be a mere passing remark; or perhaps it would be some unexpected insight. And then the old, niggling question would cross the patrician’s mind again. Who was this short, quiet man who knew so much? Divius Lucianus would probe, slightly and courteously; and, yet again, his guest would parry even the subtlest of queries. 

In truth (and never suspected by his host), Aristoteles found the Roman quite charmingly naïve. The way he clung to pride in his native land, his _gens_ , his rank as _eques_ , his wealth and property…. 

He was so very young. 

Give him a few centuries, thought the ancient Greek. Let him see the empire of the Romans fall, and other peoples take their place. If he lives that long, then he will learn. But I shall not be his teacher: only time will master him.


End file.
